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Deceased Customer Process

In the unfortunate event that an account holder passes away, the personal representative(s) of the deceased must follow the steps below:

Step 1:

  • The first step in the process is for the personal representative(s) to notify OakNorth that the account holder has passed away, by either sending an email to businessdesk@oaknorth.com, sending a letter to the address below or calling OakNorth on 0330 381 1181 and also providing the full name(s) and address details of the personal representative(s):

OakNorth Bank plc
6th Floor, Ship Canal House
98 King Street
Manchester
M2 4WU

Step 2:

  • The second step in the process is for the personal representative(s) to provide OakNorth with the Original or Certified copy of the Death Certificate. If the Death Certificate is to be a certified copy, please click here to see how to certify a document and the only type of certification that OakNorth can accept.

Note: If a Death Certificate has not yet been issued, OakNorth can accept an Original or Certified copy of the Coroner’s Certificate of the Fact of Death. Alternatively, OakNorth can also accept an Original Solicitor’s Death Certificate Verification Form. However, this is only on the basis that the form is prepared by one of the three regulated entities below:

1.  Firm regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority
2. Firm regulated by the Law Society of Scotland
3. Firm regulated by the Law Society of Northern Ireland

  • The Death Certificate, Coroner’s Certificate of the Fact of Death, or Solicitor’s Death Certificate Verification Form should be sent via post to the address stated above.

Step 3:

  • The third step in the process will be for OakNorth to release a confirmation of the account balance(s) to the personal representative(s) and to send them the OakNorth Early Account Closure Form (alternatively the OakNorth Early Account Closure Form can be downloaded by clicking here). One of the two sub-processes listed below will need to be followed depending on whether the Death Certificate will be provided by and the process will be carried out by either:

– the executor(s)

or

– a regulated entity (exhaustive list below) acting on behalf of the executor(s):

> Firm regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority

> Firm regulated by the Law Society of Scotland

> Firm regulated by the Law Society of Northern Ireland

> Firm authorised by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (for probate services)

> Firm authorised by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (for probate services)

Note: OakNorth will not be able to disclose any information about a deceased customer’s account(s) to any entity that is unregulated and/or unauthorised for probate services. Therefore, if an executor will choose to instruct an entity to act on their behalf, OakNorth requires this to be one of the five regulated entities listed above.

1. If the Death Certificate will be sent by and the process will be carried out by one of the five regulated entities listed above, OakNorth will release a confirmation of the account balance(s) to that entity without further documentation required.

2. If the Death Certificate will be sent by and the process will be carried out by the executor(s), OakNorth will require further documentation listed below before a confirmation of the account balance(s) will be released:

a. Two, separate, Original or Certified copies of: 1) Proof of Identification and 2) Proof of Address documents for all the executor(s). Details of which documents OakNorth will be able accept can be found by clicking here and details of how to certify documents and the only types of certification that OakNorth will be able to accept can be found by clicking here.

and

b. Either:

i. A letter from one of the five regulated entities listed above, verifying the executor(s) of the estate.

or

ii. A certified copy (by one of the five regulated entities listed above) of the Will, verifying the executor(s) of the estate.

  • All documentation should be sent via post to the address stated above.

Step 4:

  • The fourth step in the process will be for the personal representative(s) to apply for a Grant of Probate or a Certificate of Confirmation.

Note: OakNorth will be unable to release any funds without receiving a Grant of Probate or a Certificate of Confirmation.

Note: OakNorth will only be able to accept a Certificate of Confirmation if it has been issued by a Scottish Court.

Step 5:

  • The fifth step in the process will be for the personal representative(s) to send the completed OakNorth Early Account Closure Form via post to the address stated above.
  • The OakNorth Early Account Closure Form will allow the personal representative(s) to nominate a UK mainland bank account where OakNorth will be able to release funds after all the steps have been completed successfully. One of the two sub-processes below will need to be followed depending on whether the funds will ultimately be released to an executor or to one of the five regulated entities listed above:

1. If the funds will ultimately be released to one of the five regulated entities listed above, the nominated bank account will need to be a client account of the firm.

2. If the funds will ultimately be released to an executor, the nominated bank account will need to be a personal bank account of which the executor is an account holder.

Step 6:

  • The sixth step in the process will be for the personal representative(s) to send a Grant of Probate or a Certificate of Confirmation, via post to the address stated above.
  • One of the two sub-processes below will need to followed depending on whether the Grant of Probate or Certificate of Confirmation are to be provided by an executor or by one of the five regulated entities listed above:

1. If the Grant of Probate or Certificate of Confirmation will be sent by and the process will be carried out by one of the five regulated entities listed above, OakNorth will be able to accept an Original Grant of Probate or an Original Certificate of Confirmation.

2. If the Grant of Probate or Certificate of Confirmation will be sent by and the process will be carried out by the executor(s), one of three requirements listed below will need to be met in order for OakNorth to be able to accept the Grant of Probate or Certificate of Confirmation:

i. If the Grant of Probate will have an issue date of 4th March 2019 or LATER, this will be the “new-style” Grant of Probate with a holographic digital seal and OakNorth will be able to accept this Original Grant of Probate.

ii. If the Grant of Probate will have an issue date of 3rd March 2019 or EARLIER, this will be the “old-style” Grant of Probate with an embossed seal and OakNorth will not be able to accept this. The executor(s) will need to have this certified by one of the five regulated entities listed above.

Note: OakNorth requires all “old-style” Grant of Probate documentation to be certified by one of the five regulated entities listed above as a security measure for the protection of the funds in the account(s), by introducing an independent, regulated, third-party entity to validate the authenticity of the document.

Note: For illustrative purposes, please visit the website of The Law Society by clicking here to see the difference between the “old-style” Grant of Probate and the “new-style” Grant of Probate. Once on the website of The Law Society please click their link, “Find out the differences between the old and new grants”.

iii. Regardless of the issue date of a Certificate of Confirmation, OakNorth will be able to accept this Original Certificate of Confirmation.

Step 7:

  • The seventh step in the process will be for OakNorth to review all the documentation received from the personal representative(s). In the event where OakNorth will identify that any of the steps detailed above have not been completed successfully, OakNorth will contact the personal representative(s) to request further documentation.

Step 8:

  • The eighth step in the process will be for OakNorth to verify the nominated bank account details provided by the personal representative(s) in the OakNorth Early Account Closure Form. Where this is possible, OakNorth will attempt to complete this verification electronically. However, where this is not possible or not successful, OakNorth will contact the personal representative(s) and require a transaction and/or documentation to be provided.

Note: OakNorth will be unable to release funds without successfully completing a verification of the nominated bank account.

Step 9:

  • The ninth step in the process will be for OakNorth to release the funds via bank transfer to the verified nominated bank account of the personal representative(s).

Step 10:

  • The tenth step in this process will be for OakNorth to send a Confirmation of Release of Funds letter to the personal representative(s). This letter will include:
    • the initial deposit amount(s)
    • the total amount(s) of interest accrued up until the date of account closure
    • the total amount(s) released to the personal representative(s)
  • For customers who held an ISA product with OakNorth, a specific Confirmation of Release of Funds letter for ISA products will be sent, inclusive of further details of the account(s), which may allow the surviving spouse or civil partner of the deceased customer to apply for Additional Permitted Subscriptions (APS) in an ISA with another eligible ISA provider.

Note: OakNorth will be unable to accept Additional Permitted Subscriptions (APS) in a new ISA from a surviving spouse or civil partner.

  • When the Confirmation of Release of Funds letter will be sent by OakNorth, the process will be concluded.